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Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch
David Dimbleby looks back on his decades in broadcasting: on slipping standards in BBC political coverage, fighting back against lazy attacks, the monarchy and retirement.
Season 1, Ep. 4
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In the run up to the BBC’s centenary, the Dimbleby broadcasting dynasty has nearly spanned its 100 years. David Dimbleby, Panorama presenter, editor of Question Time for 25 years, the anchor of numerous general election and referendum programmes talks to former colleague Roger Bolton. Looking back over his years in broadcasting, David discusses the rigour of news gathering and political interviewing slipping, fighting to extol the virtues of the BBC, the reluctance to examine the monarchy, being offered an honour, retirement and much more from his decades of broadcasting.
“I would have fought tooth and nail for, first of all the rigour of news gathering and political interviewing, which I think has slid over the years. And I would have fought tooth and nail to extol the virtues of the BBC and the public support for it against the rather lazy attacks on it from both newspapers like the Daily Mail and politicians.”
“There’s so much we actually don’t know about the way the monarchy works. I don’t think it would diminish us at all to know, I think you need to know. If you know and then you can agree, you can acquiesce in it or if you think things need changing, you change it. And that seems to be the Queen’s view but not the BBC’s.”
“For me broadcasting is my life, so I don't want to relinquish it. Why should I give it up? I like doing it, and my lodestar is David Attenborough who’s 96. And I'm only 83. So why shouldn't I go on?”
@BeebRoger
roger@rogerboltonsbeebwatch.com
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